BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha pictures and hands-on

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So we might not be developers, but we’ve managed to tackle the media scrum and got some hands-on time with the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device.

The device is being handed out to all developers attending the BlackBerry World conference, helping to develop a library of apps for when the OS is launched later this year.

Yet what about the device itself. Well we should clarify that the product wasn’t actually running on BlackBerry 10, rather an OS not to dissimilar from the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Which is largely what the Dev Alpha reminded us of, a miniature PlayBook.

Engulfing the device is the 4.2-inch touch display. Touchscreens very much appear to be the way forward when it comes to BlackBerry 10, with the operating system needing some major tweaks if it is to support devices with a physical QWERTY keyboard. At least from what we’ve seen so far.

The device itself felt very comfortable in the hand with a rubberised case that was both comfy and high-end, yet at the same time able to withstand the odd bang or bump.

Found on the top of the device was a 3.5mm headset jack while a metallic strip enabling volume control sat down the side of the device.

On the adjacent side of the device sits a microSD card slot and mini-HDMI while a RIM spokesperson told Pocket-lint the device has up to 16GB or onboard storage.

UPDATE: We had to bribe, threaten and smile sweetly* (*only one of these is true) but we managed to get hold of a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device with the current version of BlackBerry 10 running on it.

We must stress this is only a working version of the OS, but it gives us an idea of what we might be able to expect.